


The Duscaen Trail

by novaKnight_Rahxbi



Category: Final Fantasy XV, Oregon Trail (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, Alternate Universe-Oregon Trail, Gen, Illness, Major Character Death (Sort of), Oregon Trail, minor toilet humor, toilet humor for the toilet boys
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-01
Updated: 2019-08-01
Packaged: 2020-07-28 08:35:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20061118
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/novaKnight_Rahxbi/pseuds/novaKnight_Rahxbi
Summary: Four young men set off on a journey across the vast lands of Eos to discover new horizons and to seek out what lies beyond their sheltered lives. With nothing but the clothes on their back, a handful of cash, and a fire-forged friendship, they'll face challenge after challenge in order to reach their goal.Welcome to the Duscaen Trail!





	The Duscaen Trail

**Author's Note:**

> Took me a little while to get to this point, but I am proud to present my very first FFXV fic! Much love to the ffxv book club discord server for supporting me while writing this because lord knows I annoyed them enough to hell and back during my writing process for this. 
> 
> Enjoy!

**Please enter the first names of the four members of your party.**

  1. ****Ignis****
  2. **Prompto**
  3. **Gladio**
  4. **Noctis**

The calm breezes of an early summer day caressed the lush grasses of the Duscaen plains, carrying the scent of pine and crisp mountain air along with it. Swallows and finches were chirping as they flew through the air overhead of a vast landscape, on which a single covered wagon was seen being pulled by four tawny-feathered chocobos of slightly varying sizes. Riding within this wagon were four young men around their early 20’s, who had come together from vastly different but intersecting walks of life for a single greater purpose: to map out and traverse the outskirts of Duscae, so that they may find a land beyond to call their new home, and to pave a new trail for future generations to follow.

“Gods, my ass is killing me. Couldn’t they have put some cushions on these benches or something?”

Although, future generations might want to take the off-beaten path as an alternative.

“Then get up and stretch instead of complaining, Princess. This is a wagon, not a royal carriage,” Gladio said bluntly. 

“I don’t even think I _ can _ stretch in this thing,” the complainer known as Noctis replied. “I’m already crouching down to avoid standing up and ripping a hole in the top.”

“Prompto seems to be faring well and he’s barely an inch shorter than you,” Ignis said, holding the reins that managed the four chocobos pulling the wagon and keeping his eyes on the path ahead.

“That’s only because he hasn’t said anything about it. You should turn around and see him. He’s got a serious mask of pain on right now.”

“No, I’m doing pretty okay right now. It’s not too bad, actually!” Prompto put one hand behind his head, using it to help stretch out his other arm.

“Thanks, dude. Always appreciate the backup,” Noctis deadpanned. 

“You know me. I aim to please.”

“In any case, it seems as though we don’t have much farther to go until the next post,” Ignis stated. “We’re actually making fairly good time right now, considering how late we left.”

Gladio slouched back a bit in his seat, taking the slightly worn map out of his satchel to study it. “Wouldn’t have left so late if somebody didn’t wasted over half an hour debating to himself about what fishing lure to buy.”

Noctis sat down with a pout. “Hey, that was time worth spent. When I’m catching nothing but big ones because I chose the right ones, I’ll be having the last laugh.”

“The last laugh at how easily those cheap lures are gonna break, maybe.”

“Hey come on, don’t jinx it! That could be our only hope of getting any food if we end up running out,” Prompto panicked.

Ignis glanced over to the map Gladio was holding, pushing his glasses up by the bridge to try and get a better look. “I would prefer if we leave that thought in the ‘worst-case scenario’ category, thank you. Approximately how far are we from the next stop?”

Gladio looked back and forth between the map and the outside surroundings, trying to match up any landmarks with what was drawn on it. “Hmm...looks like we just passed the lake in Alstor Slough, so we should be coming up on Coernix Station in about a couple hours. We’re gonna have to cross a river not long after we leave there, though.”

Prompto peeked over Gladio’s shoulder, his somewhat unkempt blond hair getting in the way of Gladio’s line of sight as he looked at the map. “A river, huh? Good thing chocobos can swim, then.”

“Yeah, but a wagon can’t. We’d all end up sinking like rocks,” Noctis said, looking over Gladio’s other shoulder and pushing his head slightly out of the way so he could view the map.

“Which is precisely why we need to get to the station before it closes at sundown. They should have the necessary supplies to let us get the wagon safely across and keep us on track,” said Ignis.

“So that’s why we need to hear a little less _ complaining _ and a little more _ focusing _ on getting there,” Gladio declared, placing the map down on his lap and using his free hands to shove his charge’s and his friend’s faces away from his own.

Noctis and Prompto ended up being forced back by the push onto the wagon’s creaky floor, rubbing their sore noses. “Fine, we got it. No backseat steering,” Noctis responded petulantly.

It was nothing but the open wilderness and the open road for these four. On this perfectly clear and sunny day with an equally clear objective in mind, the wagon continued on its path. How could anything possibly go wrong?

* * *

The rumbling booming sound of thunder accompanied the loud CRACK of lightning that flashed across the sky, illuminating the torrential downpour that was completely drenching the once dry and pristine wagon.

“Sooooo... did the forecast happen to call for a rainstorm out of nowhere?” Prompto asked.

“That’s a summertime rain for you. They say you can never predict them,” said Ignis.

Noctis sat in the far corner of the wagon, wringing the water out of part of his drenched jacket into a spare tin bucket. “Can’t predict them, and can barely avoid them. So much for getting to Coernix on time.”

“Could have made it if one of the axles hadn’t suddenly busted itself. Took way too long to put a new one on,” mumbled Gladio.

The storm continued to rage on in what could barely be considered outside to them, due to the wagon’s covering barely managing as a makeshift cover. While the few trees they had parked under provided just enough of a shelter for their chocobo steeds, it only helped a smidgeon in terms of providing more coverage.

“Doesn’t look like the rain will be letting up anytime soon,” Noctis stated. “What should we do?"

**Would you like to look around?**

  1. **Yes**
  2. **No**

Gladio attempted to peer outside to view some semblance of the landscape, but to no avail. “Nothing much to see since it’s getting dark out, so we might as well just park it for the night and get some dinner.”

Prompto finished drying off the last bit of his wet hair before tossing the towel to the corner and walking over to Ignis’ side. “Works for me. So, what’s on the menu?”

“Our selection is a bit limited and our makeshift stove top won’t heat up very much, so we’ll have to settle for some bread and steamed vegetables,” Ignis reported as he began rummaging through the small wooden crates of food.

Noctis grimaced at the mention of the latter option. “Any chance I can just stick with the bread? Could help with keeping more of our rations around.”

Gladio rolled his eyes, breaking off a portion of bread to put onto his own plate and then handing the rest off. “You can if you want to end up starving to death. Can’t live off of just bread, Noct.”

“Don’t knock it until you try it,” Noctis shrugged.

“At any rate, it’s really all we can do for now. We can focus on getting some rest and then take off as soon as the rain stops.”

The tinny creaking sound of a can being opened was all that filled the wagon’s quiet and downtrodden atmosphere, being highlighted by the dim glow of the candle lamp. The sloshy sound of the pea can’s contents being emptied into the pot were followed by the rapid chopping of Ignis’ knife cutting through vegetables. The rest of the boys huddled around the lamp’s warmth as best they could, mumbling amongst themselves about the day’s events and the hopeful wishings of better things to come.

* * *

The repaired wagon pulled into the entrance of Coernix Station the following early afternoon, the chocobos bright-eyed and bushy tail-feathered as if they hadn’t been nearly drowned out by a torrential downpour the previous day. The station was sparsely populated, with only a couple other wagons stationed around or near the entrance. One by one the boys stepped out of the wagon to stretch their weary bones, Ignis doing the same but remaining beside the wagon to start unloading its unusable or damaged supplies. After disposing of the trash, they went inside to start shopping.

“So we’re definitely gonna need another wagon axle to replace the one we used,” Gladio said as he looked over the small paper list in his hand. “Should probably get a couple more spare wheels while we’re at it, too.”

“We already have like, 4 spare wheels that are taking up the back of the wagon. We don’t need any more of those,” Noctis protested.

“Oh, but we need another fishing rod, right? Is that why you’re eyeing it like it’s the love of your life?” 

Prompto got in between the two and pointed over in the corner in an attempt to break the incoming argument up. “There’s some medicine for sale over there! Why not pick that up instead?” 

Gladio followed his finger in the direction of the medicine before noticeably grimacing at the price tag. “For sale isn’t the same thing as ‘on sale '. It's gonna cost almost all our gil to buy, and who knows if or when we’re gonna get more.”

“Besides, we all got vaccinated before we left. That’s like permanent medicine right there. Money saved,” said Noctis. 

Prompto raised an eyebrow. “I’m almost ninety-five percent sure that’s not how it works, but okay.”

“Point being, we should be alright for now.” Noctis walked over to a nearby shelf, picking up a few cans of food and the fishing rod resting on its pedestal next to them. “Let’s just grab the food and axles and head on out.”

Gladio grabbed the pole out of the prince’s arms, putting it back in its spot. “Agreed.” 

Noctis grumbled to himself in protest, carrying the rest of the cans to the counter as Prompto followed closely behind him holding one of the axles.

**What would you like to purchase?**

  * ** Food (100lbs) = 500 gil**
  * ** Clothing (4 sets) = 800 gil**
  * ** Wagon axles (2) = 1200 gil**
  * <strike>**Deluxe fishing pole = 2800 gil**</strike>

**Total: 2500 gil**

As the three travelers walked out of the store, they noticed that Ignis wasn’t near the wagon anymore. After placing their new purchases inside, they soon noticed that he was talking to one of the lone travelers that had stopped by. They looked to be finishing up their conversation, the traveler walking back to his post. 

“What was that about?” Noctis asked. 

“Just doing a bit of reconnaissance. Ignis unfurled the map to display it to the others. Apparently, we’re in for a bit of rough terrain on the road ahead once we get across the river.” 

Prompto placed the spare axles in the wagon’s storage compartment in the back. “So I’m guessing that resting too often is out of the question.” 

“Not entirely, but it’s not recommended.” Ignis circled a few points on the map before rolling it back up again. “If we leave now we might be able to get there by tomorrow evening.” 

“Well we just stocked up, so we’re good to go,” Noctis said as he hopped into the wagon. “Sooner we can get there the better.” 

“So you made sure to purchase the caulking materials then?”

“Hm?” 

“The caulking materials. The things that we came here for in the first place?” 

Noctis suddenly found the trees nearby a lot more interesting to glance at. “...Yes?” 

With an exasperated sigh of disdain, Ignis walked towards the store entrance, leaving the other three behind as they stared off at him. 

“What? It just slipped my mind.” 

“Shut up, Noct."

* * *

**You have now left Coernix Station. The next resting point is about 150 miles out.**

The traveler that Ignis had spoken to wasn’t kidding. Almost 45 minutes after leaving, the road ahead became rockier and uneasy to ride on. The contents inside the wagon shook and clattered as the wheels struggled to hold themselves together.

**Health: good**

**Weather: hot**

**Pace: steady**

“Can’t we go a little bit faster? Feels like we’ve been traveling for hours.” 

“We’re better off continuing this pace on this type of terrain. Any faster and we might end up with a wagon broken beyond repair.” 

A sudden jolt upwards was felt by the party as the wagon’s wheels hit a sharp but small rock ramp, lifting the boys out of their seats. About 30 minutes later, the surrounding air was beginning to get hotter as well, indicating to them that they had finally hit the hotter area of the region.

**Water is running low.**

“We should probably stop to get water soon.” Noctis shook his waterskin upside down, resulting in only a few meager drops falling out. 

“From where? We haven’t seen a lake or river for miles, and I doubt we’ll be seeing one anytime soon.” 

“So, not like the one right ahead of us?” 

Ignis shook his head. “There’s nothing like that indicated on the map, so there can’t be—when did that get there!?” 

Much to Ignis’ surprise, there was in fact a small pond coming up ahead of them. It certainly wasn’t large by any means, but from the looks of it it was no mirage and looked to contain a decent amount of water. 

“Ask and ye shall receive. Might as well stock up while the getting’s good,” said Gladio. 

Ignis frowned at the murky appearance of the pond’s water. “That water can’t be anything but infested with bacteria and viruses, so I’ll have to advise against that.” 

“Eh, it wouldn’t hurt to just grab some.” Gladio grabbed Noct’s waterskin and a couple empty ones to refill. “We don’t have to necessarily drink it now, but we can store it and boil it out later if we start running low.”

**You refilled your water.**

The journey continued on for about 70 more miles, the mundane views of flatter road and drier heat taking a toll before they came across a wide river that segregated their set path. From the looks of it, the river wasn’t too wide, but what it lacked in that it made up for it in depth. 

“Finally, we made it,” Noctis sighed in relief. “Let’s take a break already.” 

“Not so fast, Noct. If we break now, we’ll lose precious time we could have spent crossing the river and getting to the other side,” said Ignis. 

Prompto shielded his eyes from the glaring sun to get a closer look at the river. “It doesn’t look _ that _deep. Maybe we can just try to cross it without having to waste time caulking the wagon and unhitching everything?” 

Gladio looked at Prompto as if he had suddenly grown behemoth horns out of his forehead. “Doesn’t look that deep for _ what _ exactly? A catoblepas? We try that stunt and we’ll be looking at all our stuff floating down the river.” 

“Then let’s both take a break and caulk it up. Kill two birds with one stone.” said Noctis as sat at the front of the wagon, taking out his fishing pole to cast it. 

“Sure didn’t hesitate to pull out the fishing rod, did you?” 

“What can I say? I’m an opportunist.” 

“More like a one-track mind. In any case, we should get started.” Ignis stepped off of the wagon’s reins and walked to the back of the wagon to begin taking out the caulking supplies, Gladio following closely behind to help him out.

* * *

A couple of hours passed, Noctis contentedly looking out at the fishing lure bobbing out amongst the river’s mild rapids. Prompto was not too far from him, snapping a few photos of some of the semi-wasteland that were picture-worthy in his eyes. 

“So what does caulking a wagon even involve?” Prompto asked, flipping through a few of the photos he had taken earlier.

Noctis continued staring out at the open river. “I think it’s like when you caulk up a hole in the wall or something.” 

“That makes it totally waterproof, right? I didn’t see Ignis buy nearly that much to cover up an entire wagon.” 

“Perhaps you should have. Then you’d actually know that it’s not how caulking works.” 

The two turned around to see Ignis walking towards them, dusting off his hands of a white powdery substance. Behind them, Gladio was starting to reload the wagon with their remaining supplies. 

“We only needed to seal in the cracks in the wagon’s bottom to keep any water from getting in when we float it across. It wasn’t going to turn into a boat, if that’s what you were imagining.”

“I mean, I wouldn’t say that was _ exactly _ what I was imagining.” 

Ignis sighed in exasperation. “We’re all set to go. Happen to catch anything?” 

“Aside from a couple river bass? Not really. Probably would have done a lot better with that deluxe pole back in—“ 

“The place that we’re not heading back to, so get over it.” Gladio placed the last of the supplies within the wagon with an audible _ thunk_. “Wagon’s all loaded back up, so let’s get a move on.”

**You attempt to float across the river.**

The chocobo pack, seemingly ecstatic about getting a dip into the cooler water and barely minding the river’s current, pulled the floating vessel across the river and onto the opposite bank within minutes.

**You successfully crossed the river.**

Breaching the water’s edge at the other side of the river, the group of drenched chocobos shook the water out of their feathers before settling down and nestling into the softer ground. Soon after, Gladio stepped out with the wagon’s wheels and went to work on putting them back on each of their spikes. 

“All that work and it only took us less than five minutes to cross over.” Prompto sighed in faux disappointment. “Pretty anticlimactic, don’t you think?”

“Be thankful for that,” said Ignis. “It could have gone much worse, and I don’t think that a potential death is the type of excitement that you really want.”

* * *

After only a couple hours of traveling, the stop at Wiz’s seemed surprisingly brief. Nothing much needed to be replaced or restocked, save for some Gysahl Greens and a broken wheel that they were ultimately unable to repair that needed replacement. Taking the time to also buy a few spare sets of clothing, the boys hopped back into the wagon and set off yet again. 

The wagon continued along 45 miles in, only a light rain adding to the mostly quiet atmosphere. Along the way, small herds of Garula could be seen huddled together eating wild grasses.

“Hey...how low are we on meat right now?” Gladio asked. 

“We’re good for a couple more meals, but I anticipate we’ll run out sooner than we expect, based on Noct’s eating habits.” 

Noctis shoved another piece of the sandwich he was eating into his mouth. “Just for that, I should eat it even faster.” 

Gladio kept his eyes on the Garula wandering the fields, mentally tallying the number that he saw and taking out his greatsword. “I’m always up for some a little hunting. Mind if we stop for a bit?” 

Ignis pulled back on the reins and steered the chocobos towards the side of the road to stop“I don’t, but you’ll have to be quick about it if we want to make any headway. Will ten minutes suffice?” 

“That’s all I’ll need. Watch and learn, boys.” Hopping out of the wagon brandishing his trademark greatsword, an assured and confident Gladio went right to work. The few garula that looked up from their grazing in the direction of loud tromping footsteps started to cry out and alert the other herd members as Gladio’s hack-and-slash harvest began. Some of the smaller ones had managed to fully escape, or run and hide into far away bushes for cover. The rest were becoming part of the supply of future dinner meat that was quickly piling up. 

Within the allotted ten minutes, the dust cleared in the surrounding area around to reveal the still and slain Garula herd, patches of blood and small chunks of skin and meat strewn across the plains. In the center of it, Gladio stood tall and proud, leaning against his greatsword planted into the ground. “Barely even broke a sweat. The meat from these guys are gonna last for days.” 

“Nice going big guy,” Prompto whooped from the inside of the wagon, peeking out from it while Noctis and Ignis sat further back in. “We’re gonna eat like kings tonight!” 

“Provided that we can fit most of that in the wagon,” Ignis stated. 

Noctis leaned out of the wagon’s covering, peering and squinting at the slain herd. “How much of that can you carry back, Gladio?” 

“What, from this?” Gladio turned around and did a quick visual sweep of the slain herd, a quick calculation running through his head. “Should be able to carry all of it back once I cut the actual meat out.”

**You are only able to carry about 90 lbs of meat back with you.**

Gladio raised an eyebrow. “...The hell is that supposed to mean? There’s way more than that here and I can carry like twice that much back.” As he went over to pick up a hefty slain Garula that looked to weigh around a hundred pounds, he almost immediately felt his strength leave him as he motioned to lift it up. “Why...is this thing so heavy all of a sudden!?” 

“You know the rules. Only 90 lbs.” Ignis said, a slightly amused tone in his voice. 

Gladio continued his attempts to lift the beast’s corpse, the strain becoming more evident in both his voice and his arms. “There...is no way...that I’m leaving all this perfectly good meat...behind!” As the last word of resistance left his gritted teeth, he felt the rest of his body immediately give up on him as he fell to the ground in defeat, landing face down into the dry, chalky dirt below. 

The remaining three men watched in amusement from the comfort of the wagon as their friend gave up in one fell swoop. “Well, you can’t say he didn’t try,” Prompto admitted. 

Ignis sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Yes, but there’s a difference between earnest, reasonable effort and just being flat-out stubborn.” 

Noctis kept his eyes on his defeated Shield, chin in the palm of his hand. “Can’t the rest of us just each carry 90 pounds instead?” 

“I’m certain that we can, but Gladio’s personal hubris wouldn’t have allowed for it. Come now, let’s go help him salvage what we can and be on our way.” Ignis eased his way off of the bench and onto the field, summoning his daggers and mentally preparing the cuts of meat he intended to obtain. Prompto and Noctis followed suit, instead going to help their friend up and help mend his temporarily damaged ego.

* * *

With some luck of finding a remote but peaceful looking patch of land to rest at after their hunt, the boys decided to make camp for the evening, hoping to fill up on a delicious meal to fuel them for the coming journey. Fortunately for them, they had managed to salvage a total of 349 pounds of fresh garula meat. Within no more than a couple hours of precision cutting and makeshift kitchen prep did Ignis prepare a hearty meal of dry aged tender roast stew, paired with some slices of fairly fresh bread and refreshing water from their filled waterskins. Filled up on a delicious dinner and snuffing out the last of the campfire’s cinders, the party rested for the night and woke up bright and early the following morning--much to the dismay of one party member in particular.

**Weather: fair**

**Pace: steady**

The wagon exited the more barren portion of the land and entered a marshier part of the region. Much cooler in temperature, only the calm kwehs and caws of the chocobos could be heard as they pulled the wagon forward. 

Well, that and the increasingly distressing growls and moans coming from Ignis’ stomach that only he seemed to be ignoring. 

Gladio squirmed a bit at the aggressive noises he’d been hearing from the adviser. “Ignis, I seriously think we should pull over. That does _ not _ sound good.”

Ignis was practically stone-faced as he kept his bespectacled eyes on the path. “We’ll be coming up on the next station shortly, so there’s no need to waste any time with an unnecessary pit stop.” 

“Is it really unnecessary if you get really pale all of a sudden and start sweating a lot?” Prompto worriedly asked, leaning over to look at his friend’s face. Ignis’ face was just as he had described: getting paler by the second and positively drenched in sweat. 

Ignis took a brief moment to wipe the sweat from his brow and tilt his glasses back up to their proper position. “It’s only from the heat. Nothing to worry about,” he said with a more than obvious strain in his voice. 

Noctis looked to the side of the wagon and checked the thermometer. “It’s not nearly hot enough outside to be making you sweat like that, and your stomach sounds like it has a chestburster growing inside of it. Was it something you ate?” 

“It couldn’t have been,” Ignis groaned in fatigued frustration. “I made sure that our recent meals were cooked properly, so there’s no way that...” He trailed off for a moment before coming to a stark realization. “...Gladiolus.”

Gladio quirked up an eyebrow in mild surprise of his full name being used so sternly. “Yeah, Iggy?” 

“Did you remember to boil out that pond water like you said you would?” 

“. . . . . I, uh—“

**Ignis has cholera.**

“You have _ got _to be kidding me.

* * *

Upon stopping at the side of the road a few miles down, the majority of the rest involved Ignis generously donating the contents of his stomach into a nearby bush. 

“Okay, so we had a little bad water thrown into the mix.” Prompto shook the last of the water out of the pouch before tossing it back into the wagon. “We can’t all have drank it though, right?” 

Noctis gave a handful of greens to one of the chocobos, who took it in its beak and eagerly gulped it down. “Maybe not all of us, but Specs can’t have been the only one.”

“Then what are we gonna do?” 

“We’ll have to just wait and see,” Noctis said, giving the chocobo a few scratches on its neck feathers before walking over. “That’s all we really can do until we get to the next stop.” 

Prompto looked over at the incapacitated Ignis, concern very apparent on his face. “If Iggy can even hold on that long.” 

“I...will be just fine. This is nothing more than a temporary...stomach bug. As disgusting as it is, vomiting is a sign that I’m already... well on the road to recovery,” rasped Ignis. While the firm but gentle rubbing on his lower back that Gladio was providing did soothe him a bit, he could already feel another wave of nausea rising up. “Just let me take up the reins until then.” 

“And have you keel over and run us off the road? Not happening.” Supplying his own arm as a crutch, Gladio began leading Ignis back to the wagon. “Noct, you’re at the front until we get to the next stop. You good to go?” 

“Yeah, sure thing,” said Noctis as he hopped up into the wagon’s proverbial driver’s seat.

Prompto eagerly began to sit in the spot next to him until Gladio gently pushed him in the back where Ignis was laying down. “Hey, I’ve got permanent dibs on shotgun! What gives?”

“_ You _ can sit in the back and keep an eye on Iggy. I’m co-piloting so we don’t end up taking a wrong turn and getting lost in the woods for days on end.”

“Fiiiine. But I totally blame you if I end up getting sick too.” With an exaggerated huff, Prompto climbed into the wagon to sit beside a sickly Ignis, offering him a waterskin filled with clean water as he drank from his own. 

“You’ll both be fine.” Noctis carefully studied the map Gladio held out in front of him, recognizing the exact path they needed to take to get to the next stop as soon as possible. “We’ll get to the next station in no time, so just hold tight.”

* * *

It happened more suddenly than anyone could have imagined. They were about halfway along the path to the Cauthess Rest Area when a panicked scream from Prompto jolted Gladio from his peace and Noctis out of his focus on the road ahead. Pulling back the reins to stop the chocobos in their tracks, they ducked inside of the wagon to see the sudden cause of alarm. 

“I don’t know what happened!” Prompto was wide-eyed, tears welling up in them as he cradled Ignis’ body that was partially covered by a blanket. “I looked away for a second while he was sleeping. Then when I looked back he had just keeled over!” 

“There...there’s no way. Ignis, come on, wake up!” Noctis rapidly smacked the side of Ignis’ cheek to get him to come to. “I know you only joke once every 3 months, but this isn’t the time for it!”

No response. Complete and total stunned silence filled the wagon. 

**Ignis has died.**

Gladio folded his arms and shook his head at the sight. “Damn. Didn’t think he’d be the first to go. I kind of figured it’d have been Prompto.” 

Prompto sniffed, wiping away his tears with his arm and proceeding to scowl at Gladio. “That cuts deep, big guy. Real deep.” 

“I mean it’s not that bad of a bet.” 

“You are _ not _ helping, Noct.” 

“Anyways, we have to keep going.” Wrapping the remainder of the blanket over Ignis’ dead body to cover it entirely, Gladio picked up the bundle and headed outside it with it. “Let’s give him a proper burial and move out.” 

“Yeah.” Prompto grabbed a nearby shovel and followed him out. “At least we can give him the respect he deserved.” 

“I call dibs on the epitaph,” Noctis declared.

**Here lies Ignis.**

**“I’ve come up with a new recipeh for the last time.”**

“May he please the Six with the recipes he comes up with for them instead.” Clasping their hands in a prayer motion, both Noctis and Prompto bowed in respect at their fallen friend’s burial site. 

Gladio rolled his eyes. “And may he not wind up in Hell’s Kitchen or whatever. You two done with the theatrics?” 

“Only if you’re done poisoning us with water.” 

A twinge of guilt struck Gladio, making him wince a bit in frustration. “I’ll make sure you’re next if you keep it up.” 

With their respects paid, the remaining three got into the wagon and continued on the trail. Dusk was starting in as the sun began to descend out of view, and a light tailwind blew from behind, almost as if it was a sign of encouragement to continue on in spite of their loss.

* * *

**Weather: fair**

**Pace: steady**

**Health: poor**

Departing from Fallaughns Haven after a long rest, the weather remained cool and stagnant as the three young men continued their journey across the region. Despite the untimely departure of their dear friend and tactician, as well as a minor run-in with a thief that made off with 40 of their bullets during the night, they continued to press forward. A sense of duty and determination prevailed, and the call to adventure still needed to be answered. 

“Guys? Do you think we could—?” 

“Prompto, we’ve pulled over five times in the last hour so you could take a dump,” Noctis groaned as he cracked the reins to make the chocobos pick up the pace. “This isn’t even normal anymore.” 

Nature, too, was also calling them forth. 

“This one’s the last time, I promise,” Prompto wearily declared. 

“You said that last time,” Gladio said, picking something out of his teeth with a toothpick before flinging it onto the passing ground below them. “I think you might’ve caught the same thing Iggy had before he died.”

Prompto wiped off the sweat gathering on his forehead and kept his hand there as if to alleviate some of the discomfort. “But it’s already been a couple days and we dumped all the bad water out. If it was, I should have kicked it right after he did.” 

“Then if it’s not that, what is it?”

**Prompto has dysentery.**

Prompto blinked in confusion. “Uh, so I’m just gonna come out and ask. What’s ‘dysentery’?” 

Noctis furrowed his brow in thought, trying to recall a related memory from his numerous teachings until he found the right one. “I think it’s where you shit yourself until you die.” 

The color in Prompto’s already pallid face drained even further. “I’m gonna what until I WHAT?!” 

“Calm down. We don’t even know for sure if that’s what you got,” said Gladio, internally praying to not be the cause of another comrade’s death. 

“Well we’re gonna find out if I go again!” Prompto refuted, folding his arms in defiance. “Forget it, I’m just holding it in until the next post.” 

A loud growl emanated from Prompto’s stomach. 

“You sure about that?” 

A more distressed and audible gurgle sent Prompto curling over into himself as he clutched his stomach in pain. “P...positive…” 

“Prompto, I really think you should just—” Noctis’ suggestion was cut short by another loud stomach growl and Prompto simultaneously leaping out of the wagon in motion and running off into the adjacent woods. “...go.”

* * *

Taking a fading “I’ll be right back!” from the blond as he dashed off as affirmation, Noctis and Gladio pulled the wagon over to the side of the road for a short rest. It wasn’t until about an hour into said short rest that the two started to notice how extended their stay had become. 

Noctis looked in the direction Prompto had run off with a worried expression. “He still isn’t back yet. You don’t think he’s…?” 

Gladio looked up from one of his books that he was currently reading. “Dead? Maybe. Lost? Definitely.” 

Noctis sprung out from the wagon’s seat onto the ground and began heading towards the woods. “I’m going after him. You coming?” 

“Yeah. Gotta make sure you don’t get yourself lost.” Stepping out of the wagon, Gladio latched down the wagon to a nearby tree and followed behind. They delved deeper into the woods, not facing much resistance save for some rogue branches and rustling bushes from a few startled animals running out and away. 

“Prompto! You here or not!?” Noctis yelled, cupping his hands around his mouth. 

Nearby, Gladio searched through some more wayward shrubs. Suddenly, he stopped as if to process something. “Noct, hold up for a second.”

“Why? What is it?” 

Gladio sniffed the air around him. “Do you smell that?” 

Noctis paused in his tracks and gave a very confused glance at the question. “No? What is it that I'm supposed to be smelling, exactly?” 

Gladio looked around and gave one more audible sniff, closing his eyes in the process as if to solidify what exactly the scent was. He opened his eyes and looked to the left of both of them. “It’s something from over there. Wait here a second.” He trudged through the bushes towards where the scent apparently was.

Noctis raised an eyebrow at his friend’s odd detour. “Are you part dog all of a sudden? Where are you going?” 

“Not very far. You, uh, might want to come and see this.” 

The disconcerting tone to Gladio’s voice only upped Noctis’ own apprehension as he stepped towards the bushes Gladio had walked into. It was almost immediately upon breaching past them that an incredibly acrid smell pierced Noctis’ nostrils, making him retch in disgust.

It took nearly all of his reaction strength to swallow down the food he had eaten earlier that threatened to escape his throat. “Ugh, that reeks! What the hell is that?!” 

Gladio uneasily rubbed the back of his neck. “That...would be Prompto.”

**Prompto has died.**

Indeed, the two looked down to see their blond buddy curled up into himself yet completely still and slumped over. The only sign that he was previous alive being the all-too noticeable fact that his pants were halfway down his legs, exposing the unfortunate sight of brown splotches plastered across his rear end. 

“.....” 

“...Don’t say it.” 

“I mean I’ve heard of getting caught with your pants down, but this is kinda ridiculous.” 

“And you say it anyways.” Noctis leaned over to hoist Prompto’s body up by his shoulders, leaning it against his own somewhat gingerly. “We’re not leaving him here like this, so help me move him.” 

“To a less shitty position, you mean,” Gladio snickered. 

Noctis pursed his mouth tight to prevent any semblance of a laugh from getting through. “You are actually the worst, you know that?” 

Having grabbed both ends of Prompto to carry him by, the remaining two party members wandered about for 5 minutes before eventually finding a nearby lakefront with some solid ground to prepare a makeshift burial site. Having run back to grab a shovel from the parked wagon, Noctis began digging into the ground while Gladio took to a nearby rock and began carving out a short but poignant epitaph. 

**Here lies Prompto. **

**A good friend that shat the bed far too soon.**

Noctis gave an annoyed half-lidded stare at the makeshift tombstone before turning to Gladio. “Get it all out of your system?” 

Gladio dusted the powdered stone bits from his hands. “Yeah, that’s all I had left in me. Any more and it’s just disrespecting the dead.” 

“Ever the considerate one. Should we get going?” 

“Definitely.” Gladio put the carving materials into his pocket and began walking back to where they were parked. “We stay sitting ducks out here any longer and who knows what’ll happen.” 

As Noctis got up to follow, he noticed a stray chocobo feather lying on the ground nearby. Walking over to it, he picked it up and placed it into the mounded dirt that had marked Prompto’s gravesite.

“Sorry, dude. Bad luck of the draw.”

* * *

About half a day’s trek and a few helpings of caught and cooked fish later, the final destination was in sight. As luck would have it, Lestallum was only a stone’s throw away. There remained only one obstacle standing in the two travelers’ way.

**There is a split in the path. Will you:**

  1. ****Float down the river****
  2. **Take the Aracheole Toll Road**

“That’s not even a question,” said Gladio. “We’re taking the toll road instead.”

“With what money, exactly? We spent the last of it on food yesterday and I’ve only got like 200 gil left.” Noctis held out his hand containing a meager amount of coins. “We don’t really have much of a choice.” 

“Do you even know how to steer a raft?” 

Noctis shrugged. “It can’t be that hard, right? We’d both be rowing so if one of us fucks up, the other can correct it.” 

“So as usual, I’m in charge of saving your ass,” Gladio deduced disdainfully. 

Noctis patted the top of Gladio’s back in assurance. “I’m just helping you uphold the Amicitia duty. Returning the favor and all that.” 

“How honorable of you,” Gladio retorted sardonically. He walked into the wagon’s interior to pull our two worn wooden oars and threw them onto the dirt outside in front of Noctis. “Then let’s get moving.”

**Guide your raft through the rushing waters of the Miihen River. After passing the direction sign, land your raft at the trail to Wainterre Valley.**

It took the two of them a fair amount of effort to load everything up onto the raft and lock it all in, but within 10 minutes they had pushed off the river bank and down through the river ahead. The waters were calm enough at first, but it soon became apparent that the rushing rapids were going to be their company for the remainder of it. 

“Remember, we need to veer off at that third arrows sign for our stop,” yelled Gladio over the sound of the waters crashing over the raft. “We’re screwed if we go any further than that!” 

“Got it!” Noctis was fervently attempting to keep the raft from hitting the rocks on the side, using all of his arm strength to row it more towards the right where Gladio was positioned.

As they continued down the river minutes later, the rapids picked up even more, rocking the boat more roughly than before and causing the chocobos on board to start cawing in concern. 

“Why are there so many rocks in this river if other people have been coming down it?”

“Maybe because barely _ anyone _ comes down it and takes the toll road instead like the sane people they are?” 

“If by sane you mean ‘boring’, then I can see that,” said Noctis, pushing off against another large boulder that had come across their path on the left. The sudden shove had elicited an irritated “kweh!” from the smallest chocobo of the pack. 

“Watch it! Any more like that and you’ll shove us six feet under. Now how many signposts have we passed?” 

“The signposts? Uh…” As Noctis warily looked back behind him, he did in fact see a sign in the shape of a wooden arrow getting smaller in the distance. “There’s that one back there, so at least one?” 

Gladio’s eyes widened in horror. “_ At least? _Noct, I told you keep watch for them!” 

“I’ve been trying to keep our asses from getting sunk!” Noctis sputtered out after being smacked with a faceful of river water from the current. “Why weren’t _ you _ looking out for them on _ your _side!?” 

“The river only flows one way,” Gladio bellowed. “There wouldn’t _ be _any on my side, dumbass!” 

As the two argued back and forth, they failed to notice that the raft’s weight had become significantly lighter due to the chocobos having had abandoned ship. The last of the four scrambled to take flight and glide over to the riverbank to join the rest of its pack before dashing off into the wooded area on the other side. 

“We could have been well on our way to Lestallum by now if you hadn’t gotten us here, you know that?” 

“Right,” Noctis yelled. 

Gladio smirked. “Hmph. Well at least you’ve got the guts to admit—“ 

“No, _ your _right_! _ Go _ right!” _

As soon as Gladio looked ahead he saw a very sizeable boulder growing in size as the careened closer and closer to it by the second.

“Oh fu-”

** _CRASH!!_ **

**The raft has been destroyed.**

**Gladio has drowned.**

**Noctis has drowned.**

* * *

**Here lies Gladio.**

**Not even his muscles could carry us the whole way.**

“You little smartass.”

**Here lies Noctis.**

**“What can I say? I’m an idiot.”**

“I can have you tried for treason, you know.” 

Ignis sat up in his chair, pressing the side button on his phone to put it into sleep mode. “I hardly think that’ll be possible, considering that you are technically dead.” 

“But man, you guys made it pretty far with just two people left.” Prompto used his partially gloved finger to scroll through game log on his phone screen. “I thought for sure it’d have been insta-game over after Iggy kicked it.” 

“That’s only because we made him the party leader and a banker,” Noctis pouted. “Told you we should have gone the farmer route and made me the leader.” 

Gladio scoffed. “So we could be broke and die right off the bat? Yeah, that ain’t worth the chance of getting a high score.” 

“You wanna bet? Let’s play again.” 

Prompto groaned. “Do we have to? Dinner’s almost ready and I’d rather not spoil it by reading about me crapping myself to death again.” 

“The stew isn’t quite done yet, so it wouldn’t be the worst possible way to pass the time,” Ignis confirmed. 

“Guess that settles it, then,” Gladio hummed. Lead the way, ‘farm boy.’” 

A cheeky grin grew ever present on Noctis’ face as he reopened the app on his phone, the other three boys following suit. “Gladly.”

** _Welcome to “The Duscaen Trail”! Press ‘Start’ to Continue._ **

**Author's Note:**

> me a couple months after getting into ffxv: ha ha wouldn't it be funny if the boys played oregon trail?  
me from a few months ago: well hell
> 
> thank you all for reading!


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